Â
| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Aleah James |
5-7 |
Gr. |
15.5 |
2.5 |
39.3 |
Dished out career-high eight assists at La Salle |
| G |
1 |
Makyiah Ward |
5-4 |
Fr. |
11.0 |
5.0 |
64.3 |
11 points and 5 rebounds in each of first two collegiate games |
| C Â Â Â Â Â Â |
4 |
Sonia Sato |
6-0 |
Gr. |
13.5 |
2.5 |
32.3 |
Career-high 14 points against Explorers |
| F |
15 |
Cassandra Hawthorne |
5-10 |
Gr. |
10.0 |
8.5 |
53.8 |
Career-high 12 points at La Salle |
| F |
23Â Â Â |
Shelby Ricks |
5-9 |
Gr. |
10.5 |
6.5 |
35.3 |
Team-high 15 points against La Salle |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ |
3 |
Desire Short |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play in first two games |
| G |
5 |
Kash Holmes |
5-9 |
Jr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Did not play in first two tilts |
| F |
10 |
Zaiha Minnis |
5-11 Â Â |
Sr. |
4.0 |
1.0 |
50.0 |
Had five points off the bench against Dukes |
| G |
11 |
Bati Assefa |
5-9 |
Sr. |
1.0 |
2.0 |
--- |
Made Red Flash debut at La Salle |
| GÂ |
12 |
Sajol Thornhill |
5-7 |
So. |
1.5 |
2.5 |
12.5 |
Posted three rebounds and three assists in SFU debut |
| G |
21 Â Â |
Gemma Walker |
5-10 |
So. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Appeared in 13 games last season |
| G |
33 Â Â |
Giselle Eke |
6-3 |
So. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Led the team in blocks last season |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. ROBERT MORRISÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Thursday's game between Saint Francis and Robert Morris marks the 94th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1977-78 season.
• The Colonials lead the series 50-43, but the Red Flash holds a 28-17 margin at DeGol Arena.
• Last year's 58-55 win in Moon Township ended a six-game losing streak to Robert Morris and handed Saint Francis its first win against the Colonials since they left for the Horizon League in 2021-22.
• The Red Flash is 25-32 in home openers, with a 7-6 mark when the game opens up a new campaign and 18-26 when the team starts the season on the road before playing a home game. In addition, the Red Flash is 21-32 at home openers at DeGol Arena.
• Saint Francis is looking for its first home-opening win since defeating Seton Hill in 2018 and ending a five-game losing streak in the inaugural home contest of the year.
• Robert Morris is the first game in Loretto for the Red Flash for the fourth time in program history. Saint Francis defeated the Colonials 70-54 on December 15, 1976, while Robert Morris defeated Saint Francis 74-59 on December 8, 1987, and 61-50 on November 6, 2023.
• It is the 34th time the Loretto program will open its home schedule against a team from the Keystone State. The Red Flash is 17-16 against teams from the Commonwealth, when playing a team from Pennsylvania for the first home game of the year in Loretto.
• Head coach
Chynna Bozeman looks to become the sixth head coach to win their first home game as a head coach, joining Veronica Buzzard (Mount Aloysius, 1968), Myndi Hill (Cornell, 1999), Jill Poe (Cornell, 2003), Susan Frutchl Robinson (Longwood, 2007), and Joe Haigh (Howard, 2012). Buzzard was 11-4 in home openers, while Robinson (3-2), Hill (2-2), and Poe (2-2) all finished their careers with a .500 record in the first home game of the year.
• Saint Francis comes into the game with a 0-2 record. If Bozeman and her Flash defeat Robert Morris, she would earn her first win as head coach in her third game. Keila Whittington, Bozeman's predecessor, also earned her first win in her third game, a 78-73 win against Stetson on November 16, 2019.
• Saint Francis played two road games in the Keystone State (at Duquesne and at La Salle) and now returns home for a four-game homestand. In the first 10 seasons in program history, the Red Flash did not play a game outside of the Keystone State. The first time the squad left the Commonwealth for a contest was February 5, 1979, at Stuebenville (now Franciscan). In addition, the squad will play its first five games against state teams, with Robert Morris, Lafayette, and Carnegie Mellon coming to town.
• It is the first non-conference four-game homestand since 1984-85. The Colonials also started the four-game stretch that season just like in 2025-26. While this is just the second time the Loretto program has hosted four in a row in non-conference play, Saint Francis has had 11 four-game homestands in NEC action, although twice those spans included two NEC games and two non-conference tilts.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's first win of the season
• Give head coach Chynna Bozeman her first career victory
• Have Bozeman become the sixth head coach to win her first game in Loretto
• Be the team's first home opening win since 2018-19
• Earn the second-straight win against Robert Morris for the first time since taking the last two wins in the 2017-18 season
• Start a four game homestand with a win
ABOUT THE COLONIALS
• Robert Morris comes into the contest 2-0 after defeating Akron 70-61 on Friday.
• Aislin Malcolm paced the Colonials with 20 points, while Noa Givon added 15 points and Myriam Traore had 11 points against the Zips.
• Malcolm, a transfer from Pitt, also had 26 points in her Robert Morris debut against UIC on November 3 to earn the Horizon League Player of the Week honor. She leads the team with 23.0 points per game.
• Givon is second on the team with 14.0 points per game, while Bailey Kuhns is third with 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Kuhns, a transfer from Mercyhurst, averaged 20.0 points per game in two games against Saint Francis last year, including 23 points on February 20 in Loretto.
LAST TIME WE MET
• Airah Lavy hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to give Saint Francis a 58-55 win against Robert Morris on November 20, 2024.Â
• Lavy finished with a career-high 19 points, while Julianna Gibson (15 points) and Natalie Johnson (10 points) also finished in double figures to help the Red Flash to its first win against the Colonials since a 66-56 win in the 2018 NEC Championship Game on March 11, 2018.
• Isys Grady paced Robert Morris with 15 points, and Noa Given had 12 points.
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis put up a valiant effort against La Salle before falling 84-73 on Saturday.
• All five Red Flash starters reached double figures after Shelby Ricks (15 points), Sonia Sato (14 points), Aleah James (14 points), Cassandra Hawthorne (12 points), and Makyiah Ward (11 points) recorded double figures.
• It was the first time Saint Francis registered five players in double figures since December 16, 2016, against UMES, and the first time all five starters turned the trick since December 20, 2017, against Portland.
• Sato and Hawthorne established new career-highs, while Ricks posted her best game in a Saint Francis uniform.
• Bati Assefa made her Saint Francis debut, playing 11 minutes with a point, two rebounds, and an assist.
TRENDING UP
• Graduate student Shelby Ricks, who had six points and eight rebounds in her first game with the Red Flash, posted her second-most points in her career with 15 points at La Salle on November 8. The graduate student had career highs of 20 points against Bluefield State on February 15, 2025, and 15 points against Livingstone on February 27, 2025. It was her seventh 10+ point game of her career.Â
• Graduate student Sonia Sato notched her second career double-figure performance, with both of them coming in a Saint Francis uniform. The graduate student had 13 points at Duquesne on Monday, then added one more on Saturday to set a new standard.Â
• Graduate student Aleah James, who was named an NEC Prime Performer, paced the team with a career-high 17 points against the Dukes and is averaging 15.5 points per game in her first two games at Saint Francis, and has three double-figure point games in her career. The graduate student notched a career-high eight assists against the Explorers, posting her second career five-assist game.
• Graduate student Cassandra Hawthorne recorded her first 10+ point game with her 12 points on Saturday and missed her first career double-double by two boards. The eight rebounds matched the career-high she set at Duquesne.
• Freshman Makyiah Ward also matched her career best with 11 points and five rebounds for the second-straight game. She also added a new standard in assists with four. In her first two collegiate games, the freshman is averaging 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 5.0 steals.
• Saint Francis has scored 135 points in its first two games. Last season, the Red Flash scored 135 combined points in two games in a row five times, and only once was that in non-conference play.Â
HOME, SWEET, HOME, LORETTO
• Saint Francis was 5-8 last season at DeGol Arena after going 0-4 in non-conference play and 5-3 in NEC action.,
• The Red Flash averaged 56.8 points per game, while allowing 60.9 points per game.Â
• The squad had a four-game winning streak in NEC play in Loretto in 2024-25, but is looking for its first non-conference home win since a 69-59 win against Morgan State on December 2, 2023. A win would end a five-game non-conference home losing streak.Â
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 2-3 on this date, including 1-1 at DeGol Arena.
• Katie Reese hit a 3-pointer with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter to give the Red Flash the lead it would not relinquish against Wisconsin in a 103-100 win on this date in 2016. Jess Kovatch paced Saint Francis with 29 points, while Reese (27 points), Ace Harrison (13 points) and Maya Wynn (12 points) also reached double figures against the Badgers.
FUN FACTS
• Saint Francis has played two Power 5 teams on this date in team history. Along with Wisconsin, the Red Flash played Rutgers in the Preseason WNIT in 1998.Â
